FASA
$20/335 pages

I take a took up on my role-playing shelf and I see a menagerie of fantasy role-playing games' There's D&D, Stormbringer, The Fantasy Trip Talislanta, The Arduin Grimoire, and even a bea; up copy of Tekumel, a little game designed by a University of Minnesota professor. Yup, I love fantasy role-playing, but I don't get much of a chance to do it anymore because there's just not a whole lot that can be added to the genre. There's plenty of people who are re-using old ideas, but the innovation switch has been on "OFF" for quite a while.

Well, FASA's changed all of that with Eardidawn. Roleplaying in the land of Barsaive is a real breath of fresh air. The setting for Earthdawn has to be one of the most original I've seen in years. I tend to stay away from fantasy fiction nowadays because it suffers from the same problem that fantasy role-playing does.

Let me tell you, Earthdawn is more innovative than any of the top ten best sellers in the fantasy genre last year and it's a role-playing game.

Earthdawn takes place in the world of Barsaive, a land that has seen better days. Nearly a millennia ago, terrible creatures called "Horrors" came to Barsaive to rend and destroy. The people of Barsaive had to enclose themselves in magical wards called karns to protect themselves from the Horrors, and they remained locked away for eight hundred years. Entire civilizations lived and died in labyrinthine catacombs as the Horrors had their way with the world outside.

After eight centuries had passed, the world was ready to reemerge into the sunlight, into a world that was no longer the world that was written of in the scrolls left behind by their ancestors. The great Empires of the past are no more, and the people must rebuild what once was. It's a great setting for roleplaying: traditional fantasy elements with a twist of Twilight: 2000 and The Morrow Project.

The game allows you to play all the traditional races (elves, dwarves, humans, etc.), but also adds the non-traditional ones such as orks and ogres and adds some new ones in.

My favorite are the dragon-like T'skrang who pilot the riverways of the world, telling the great tales of their travels. A Sam Clemens with scales sounds like a lot of fun. The character generation rules are reminiscent of level systems (they call them "spheres", but they're levels) with a bit more flexibility. The idea is to play an "adept", someone who follows a calling rather than a class.

The mythology of the world is rich and complex, with "Passions" instead of "gods." The Passions remind me of the Greek pantheon with their human-like tempers and closeness to mortal men, so if that kind of flavor floats your boat, you'll be at home here.

The game system itself is unique. When I play fantasy games, I'm a big sucker for the old Stornibringer system, so it seemed a little heavy to me. Each time you gain a Sphere, you roll a new system of dice that gives you better numbers. While innovative, I would have appreciated a more straightforward system. However, it does allow you to roll a lot of dice which, I understand, some players are particularly fond of. The magic system is also innovative, using many different kinds of sorcery. There's thread magic (rather harmless) and blood magic (dark and dangerous) for the players to toy around with along with becoming a "questor" (holy man) and divining power from the gods. All of the adepts have their own special abilities, which gives each of the adepts a kind of "secret society" feel.

One disadvantage that many of the "point-based systems" have is that any character can purchase any skill they want. Making certain skills "secret skills" available only to certain adepts is keen. The notion that your character is part of a community that passes on its secrets is not only cool, but its also historically accurate and more "historical fantasy" games should pick up on Earthdawn's hint.

The supplementary material for Earthdawn is of superior quality. The Denizens of Earthdawn Volumes I-III are complete looks at the different races and their cultures. When you get finished reading about Obsidimen (way cool rock guys), you know what they think about the other races, how they get along with each other, and everything else you need to play your character to the hilt. The boxed sets are also a joy, with full color maps, measuring tool for distance, and well worth the cost.

Earthdawn has it all: FRPG with horror, exploration, and adventure. I feel the swirl of nostalgia along with pangs of innovation. I highly recommend Earthdawn.

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